Malphegor
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GSiN: Ch. 150
🕑 Added 2025-07-30 23:20:27 +0000 UTC---Third POV---
"According to the follow-up investigation, the one who killed Danzō was Shiori."
"What?" Ryouma was truly agitated now. He stepped forward, placing both hands on the desk and asked nervously, "Then she's not hurt, is she?"
Minato had expected this kind of reaction from Ryouma, which was why he had prepared him mentally beforehand.
"Calm down. Shiori is fine. This is what happened at the time…"
---
At that moment, during the battle between Shiori and Danzō, the entire abandoned Root base collapsed from the aftershocks of their fight.
The loud noise, along with the overwhelming presence of Susanoo, was immediately detected by patrolling Konoha ninjas nearby.
"Death is what you deserve."
Ignoring Danzō's corpse, Shiori turned to leave.
However, two ANBU ninjas suddenly appeared about ten meters ahead of her.
"You're Shiori, right? May we ask if you saw who was fighting here just now?"
Before killing Danzō, Shiori had considered the possibility of being caught in the act. That wass why she struck with full force while Danzō was still in the underground base, hoping for a quick kill.
What she hadn't expected was that she still slightly underestimated his capabilities. After all, he was the Second Hokage's disciple, he wasn't entirely without skill.
At this moment, the third member of the patrol squad arrived from another direction and joined his two teammates.
"Captain, I found Lord Danzō's body up ahead."
Hearing this, the two ANBU who had stopped Shiori inhaled sharply.
What on earth had they just walked into?
Danzō had always harbored deep distrust and hostility toward the Uchiha clan. This wasn't exactly a secret in Konoha; anyone who paid attention to such matters knew of it.
Now, both Danzō and Shiori were found in the same location, and one of them had turned up dead. Even the densest mind could guess what had happened, let alone these elite ANBU.
Among the three-man ANBU squad, a ninja with spiky pineapple-shaped hair looked on warily.
"You do understand what you've done, right?"
"What are you trying to say?"
Seeing that she was still willing to talk, Takashi quickly stepped in to mediate.
"No matter what conflict existed between you and Danzō, personal combat is still forbidden within the village. If you acted in self-defense, then please come with me to see the Hokage. He'll ensure justice is done."
"So noisy."
Shiori ignored Takashi's attempt to reason with her. A crimson glow flickered in her eyes as she prepared to use a genjutsu to incapacitate the three ANBU.
Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control, a hoarse voice sounded from the side.
"If you make a move on them now, it really will be impossible to explain yourself."
The three ANBU let out a visible sigh of relief upon seeing who had arrived. They bowed slightly in greeting.
"Orochimaru-sama."
Orochimaru raised his hand to signal there was no need for formality, then turned his gaze to the slightly tense Takashi and opened his mouth to lie without hesitation.
"I was conducting experiments nearby and witnessed what happened. It was Danzō who struck first. As for Shiori, she merely acted in self-defense."
"If you're willing to testify, that's certainly ideal. I personally believe what you say is true. But please understand our duty. This matter still needs to be handled by the Hokage."
Despite the oppressive weight of Orochimaru's gaze, Takashi forced the words out, cold sweat already soaking his back.
Fortunately, Orochimaru had no intention of making things difficult for him. After all, he was fully confident he could protect Shiori for Ryouma's sake. So he simply said, "Of course that's not a problem. Just make sure to bring Danzō's corpse along, that's an important piece of evidence."
As he finished speaking, a smile crept onto his face.
---
In the Hokage's office, Orochimaru, Shiori, and Takashi's squad were all present.
After listening to Takashi's report and glancing over at Danzō's body laid out flat on a stretcher, Minato felt a headache coming on.
Though Danzō rarely appeared in public among the common people of Konoha, he was quite well-known among the ninjas. Even though he was often seen as unpopular or even despised within Konoha, the truth was that, as the village's only known hardliner, he had a sizable and devoted following.
Now that he had been killed by Shiori, unrest within the village was almost certain to follow.
With that in mind, Minato decided he needed to suppress the matter for now to prevent a public outcry.
"Takashi, aside from your squad, is there anyone else who knows about this incident?"
"Reporting. We covered up Danzō-sama's body along the way. No one else has discovered it."
"You've done well. I'll handle the rest of this matter personally. You're to return to the abandoned base, retrieve all the corpses of the former Root ninjas, and deliver them to Shikaku at the ANBU division."
"Yes."
With the order given, Takashi swiftly left the Hokage's office with his team.
As the three exited the Hokage Building, Takashi couldn't help but let out a weary sigh. "Ugh… what a drag…"
He had absolutely no desire to be involved in this kind of matter.
Danzō had been killed within the village, and the perpetrator was a member of the Uchiha clan. Judging by the Hokage's stance, it looked like the whole incident was going to be quietly swept under the rug. Even Orochimaru had "coincidentally" shown up at the scene to vouch for the Uchiha.
Man… could this be the Hokage quietly eliminating political opponents to consolidate power? The more you thought about it, the scarier it seemed.
You had to admit, Takashi had quite an imagination. Sometimes, smart people just overthink everything.
But this tendency to overinterpret wasn't uncommon in Konoha. People's hearts were unpredictable, and there was always the risk that spies from other villages could stir things up.
That was exactly why Minato was worried that Danzō's death might cause internal instability in Konoha.
Suppressing the matter from the beginning to avoid a public crisis, then handling it quietly behind the scenes, that was the most prudent approach.
---
Back in the office, Minato was well aware that Shiori was someone Ryouma trusted deeply as a teammate. And he trusted Ryouma's judgment, there was no way he would approve of someone who could kill a fellow ninja without cause.
Considering Orochimaru's long history of cooperation with Danzō, Minato wanted to make sure Shiori wasn't being wrongfully accused. So after a moment's thought, he decided to ask her directly.
"Shiori, can you tell me exactly what happened? Don't worry, I won't take sides."
Hearing his question, Shiori laid everything out plainly, without mentioning Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan. In her eyes, this wasn't something that needed to be kept secret.
"Danzō was secretly plotting against Ryouma. After discovering his plan, I acted first and eliminated him. That's all there is to it."
Her explanation was overly brief, clearly full of holes, for example, what exactly was Danzō's plan, and how did she even find out about it?
Even Shiori herself felt that what she had just said was a bit perfunctory.
However, Minato didn't press further. Instead, he calmly said:
"All right, I understand. So, Orochimaru, what did you discover in the forest?"
"Hehe, no need to be so wary of me," Orochimaru chuckled lightly. "It's true I was conducting experiments in that area. And regarding Danzō's plan, I know a few things as well."
With that, he pulled out a scroll from behind him. After unsealing it, an arm covered in densely packed wooden spikes appeared on the ground.
This arm had been extracted from the large tree he had grown using cells from the First Hokage on the battlefield.
He then showed the arm to Minato, revealing two eyes embedded in it that had lost their power. He explained in a calm, deliberate tone. "This is Danzō's arm, his greatest secret. In the past, he secretly conducted forbidden human experiments using the First Hokage's cells, something Hiruzen-sensei had strictly prohibited. He even transplanted those cells into his own body and relied on the Uchiha clan's Sharingan to barely suppress the backlash."
"This time, he was probably targeting Shiori's Mangekyō Sharingan. After all, when it comes to suppressing the First Hokage's cells, how could a regular three-tomoe Sharingan compare to a Mangekyō? As for her claim that Danzō had a plan targeting Ryouma, it was likely fake intel he intentionally fed her, to lure her into seeking him out. What he didn't anticipate was just how powerful she had become, which led to him suffering the consequences."
Orochimaru truly lived up to his reputation as a genius. In just the few minutes it took to arrive, he had already fabricated such a well-constructed false narrative in his mind.
If Shiori hadn't known with certainty that she was acting on a tip from the future when she went to kill Danzō, she might have even believed Orochimaru's version, that Danzō had targeted her Mangekyō from the very beginning.
But why would someone like Orochimaru help me for no reason? A flash of confusion appeared in her eyes.
Actually, it wasn't that hard to understand. After all, ever since Orochimaru obtained the White Zetsu corpses and Yomi no Tsurugi from Ryouma, he had completely severed ties with Danzō.
But Danzō wasn't willing to give up such a useful researcher. He kept sending people to harass Orochimaru in secret, trying to pressure him into continuing the First Hokage cell research. And since Danzō held blackmail material on him, Orochimaru, wanting to maintain his cooperation with Ryouma, couldn't confront Danzō directly and had to keep stalling.
Now that an opportunity had finally presented itself, he pinned all the blame on Danzō, betting on the fact that the dead tell no tales.
Minato hadn't believed that Shiori would attack Danzō without a good reason in the first place. Now, with Orochimaru providing both testimony and physical evidence, it was easy to come to a conclusion about how the situation should be handled.
---
That led to the scene of Minato relaying the entire sequence of events to Ryouma without holding anything back.
"That's more or less what happened. Although Orochimaru has vouched for the situation, as Hokage, I still have to send people to verify the facts. But I don't think there'll be any major issues. Also, since Shiori was the victim in this matter, she isn't facing any punishment. On the contrary, Orochimaru ended up revealing quite a few details about the forbidden experiments he conducted with Danzō."
"Although, according to him, most of it was due to Danzō's coercion, it still violated Konoha's laws. So for now, he's under house arrest. Until all the hidden illegal labs inside the village are discovered and dealt with, according to protocol, you're not allowed to visit him."
"Oh, I see. That's fine, as long as no one got hurt, I'm relieved."
Minato's storytelling skills were so good, complete with occasional hand gestures, that Ryouma nearly forgot he had originally come to talk about a medical formula with Orochimaru.
"Then, about the investigation into those illegal labs, who's in charge of that?"
He thought that if there was still time, he could ask Minato to hand that task over to him. That way, he could make sure the blame landed on Danzō without a single error.
Unfortunately, things rarely go as one hopes.
Without hesitation, Minato replied to Ryouma's question, "Don't worry. When the Sandaime heard about the matter, he volunteered to lead the investigation himself. He won't show favoritism to anyone."
"Uh…"
Ryouma was at a loss for words. If it were anyone else, he'd be relieved. But of all people, it had to be the Third Hokage.
It was true that Hiruzen wouldn't show bias, but that was exactly the problem.
Now that Danzō was already dead, anyone else leading the investigation might consider doing Orochimaru a favor by placing all the blame on the deceased. That was what usually happened, even in Ryouma's past life: when someone left a company, every unresolved mess somehow got pinned on them.
Looks like bribery's not an option, he thought, beginning to consider other ways to protect Orochimaru.
These hidden forbidden labs really were a problem. It would've been fine if Danzō were still alive, but now that he was dead, all the shady stuff underground couldn't be covered up anymore. And it didn't help that Orochimaru had spilled everything like a self-destructing truck, being a bit too honest.
After thinking it over, he did come up with someone, who could wield the greatest influence in Konoha. The only downside? He'd probably have to shell out a good bit of money.
---
In the forests of Konoha, deep inside a hidden Root base, thud, thud, thud, a series of hurried, disordered footsteps echoed through the underground facility.
Hiruzen led a squad of ANBU as they broke down a heavy door and stormed into a laboratory.
Unlike the previous labs they had searched, this one was especially spacious. The dim, yellow lighting barely pierced the heavy shadows, revealing rows of massive glass tanks that stood like silent sentinels.
Inside these tanks was a green nutrient fluid, its surface was shimmering faintly in the dark.
What made the scene truly chilling, though, was the presence of small, floating human bodies inside the tanks. Their eyes were blank and lifeless, and their entire bodies were covered in wooden growths, as if parts of trees had been grotesquely grafted onto human flesh.
